Day Trip to Marseille, France
A city by the sea on film, as well as our favorite coffee and dining experiences
A city by the sea on film, as well as our favorite coffee and dining experiences
We took a day trip to Marseille for my birthday, which fell in the middle of our honeymoon. It was a very sweet city and we spent the day indulging in my favorite things including, but not limited to; really good coffee, soft scrambled eggs, crispy potatoes, several pasta dishes, caprese, aged cheeses and red wine. I’ll share our itinerary for the day, along with some film and iPhone photos from our time there:
Dining in Marseille
La Fiancée for brunch and coffee, 7VB for more coffee, Le Bar Á Vrac for organic bulk shopping, appetizers and wine, Otto for dinner, Cathédrale La Major for sunset. As with Aix, make sure to make reservations for every meal, even an early breakfast. It’s difficult to find a spot with walk-in availability on any given day!
La Fiancée
Brunch and coffee at La Fiancée was one of our favorite meals of the entire trip. The interior was lovely and the staff was incredibly friendly and conversational!
Planning Your Days
Most restaurants and shops are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so aim to get food from the store and eat in. There is plenty of underground parking everywhere, so you’ll be just fine if you have a rental car. Much like Aix, essentially every restaurant and bar has natural or organic wine options for about 8 euros/glass which could not be more pleasant.
Le Bar Á Vrac
Eclectique / Coffee Shop + Cave à bières
Coffee & Wine
Throughout the day, we generally like to walk around town and stumble into shops and go with the flow. And usually, try all the coffee and wine that we can in a particular place. Above is the organic bulk shop that Nick found: it was tucked away in the back of a storefront and we ordered an appetizer plate, had a couple glasses of natural wine and then got some bulk candy to eat after dinner. It was charming and we were essentially the only ones there! We also went to Eclectique for a glass of wine and it was a really sweet space, definitely would have enjoyed going back for coffee or breakfast.
So many spots in France serve every meal so if you find a spot you really like for breakfast, you can go back for dinner and have a totally different but equally enjoyable experience.
We finished the evening at Otto for dinner which was a lovely time, they had such a solid menu with every appetizer that we love and really yummy pasta. The owner eventually struck up a conversation with us and then brought out some of his aged, imported cheeses and let us try a bunch with baguettes. A very sweet birthday dinner experience.